The Forgotten Child
by flushed puppy 15
Summary: Like any other sweet little town Wellsonberg had tourists and strangers wander in from time to time. The one thing about this sweet little town was its one well. The one it was most known for. You see, this well was once a witch's grave and it still is to this very day.
1. Monster in a humans skinn

The Forgotten Child

Once upon a time, there was a man. His name will not be mentioned as it is important to this story that it is reviled later on. This man was very wealthy, he was very famous, and he was also very old or at least in his eyes he was. He and his family lived on the mountain top overlooking a town. The town was named Wellsonberg. It was a nice quiet town, Wellsonberg. It had nice quiet people and a nice Quiet demeanor. It wasn't very big, but it wasn't very small either, it was perfectly even. It has a rich history and diversity. Everyone knew one another; the baker knew the librarian the librarian knew the blacksmith and the blacksmith knew the mayor and so on. Like any other sweet little town Wellsonberg had tourists and strangers wander in from time to time. The one thing about this sweet little town was its one well. The one it was most known for.

You see, this well was once a witch's grave and it still is to this very day. The witch that was buried there was not the evil kind one finds in fairy tales and mythology, she was a good witch, but at a price. For every wish she granted someone had to pay a price. A great price, one that can never be refunded. You must kill one of your own kin to fulfill your wish. In life she wasn't so demanding, but death changes people. Death can change the gracious into the selfish. It can turn the wary into the wild, and it can turn the loving into the loathing. The witch's ashes were spread around her personal belongings and flowers were planted around it. The villagers however, had other plans. They built a well in the perimeter of her ashes and ever since then people have never gone back to that horrendous hell hole again.

The man from our earlier musings is very desperate when he needs to be. At midnight on a Sunday he traveled out to the cursed well and spoke:

"Well Witch, Well witch under the ground I've come for a wish whilst you lie in the rotting mound." He chanted, and not a moment later the enchantress appeared before him laced in gold and jewels from her past life. She looked down at the man and spoke: "Yes human? What do you wish for? Money? Fame? Power? No, you already have all of those don't you? You seek the one thing men always crave for like starved animals, youth. Am I correct?" he was taken back at her knowledge, "Yes-"he said taking great caution, "-how did you know that?".

"Through death I have gained knowledge mortal." The witch moaned floating down to sit on the outer edge of her grave. Her golden hair shimmering like sun beams cupped her face like flowing water.

"Ha, I cannot die I have too much to live for" he said pulling his coat around him. The enchantress rolled her eyes at his foolishness knowing all too well that he was going to do what she told.

"Very well I will grant your wish of eternity, but at a price." She loomed over him and spoke carefully; "You must slit your kin's throats and drain their blood into three goblets, one made of gold, one made of silver, and the other made of brass. Your youngest son however must stay alive. He will be trapped like you in an eternal prison and feel your future pain."

The man nodded and before he left she added, "Oh and I almost forgot, they must not see you murder them, and bring back the blood by night fall tomorrow at this exact spot or you will be condemned to a fate worse than death."

As he walked back to his great mansion and did as instructed he thought of what he had just done. Slit his own kin's throat and drain their blood into the goblets she said, how could a father do that to his family you ask? Well let's say that for now he is not one to call father. He is a monster in a man's skin.

As he committed the worst sin known to mankind, his son had a night mare. The sons name was Alphonse, and he was only five years of age at the time. He woke up with tears in his soft golden eyes.

"Mother," he sobbed still half asleep. "Mother?" he walked into his parent's hallway. It was lined with paintings and old vases. The wall paper was a deep red color that had shown black that night; he passed by a towering window his shadow crawled up the old dusted wall. He crept his way to his parents resting place and pushed the giant oak door open to find his own father dressed in black and drenched in his mother's crimson. He didn't make a single sound as his father turned to him and froze. The young child looked at his father to his mother and to the blood smothering his fathers over coat. He took a step back and his father, after setting both goblets down on a nightstand, took a step forward. His father charged at him and beat him over the head knocking the small frail child to the floor. Splayed out in his night cloths, arms at awkward angles the child was not dead. The father looked at his son and out of panic he took him to the witch that night.

"You, mortal, have to be the most insolent of them all. Give me the goblets." She commanded. The man did so with a look of irritation on his face at the witches comment.

"Lie the child down," She said two goblets in one hand and the third in the other. The man did so and the witch poured his two daughters blood in a circle around the child. She dropped the empty treasures on the old grass ground. The enchantress poured half of the mother's blood onto the child and the other half on the father. The father blinked through blood soaked lashes and shuddered at the warm fluid.

"Now," said the Enchantress "your wish will be granted." She raised her hands to the heavens and bowed her head low, she chanted in an old foreign tongue, the secret to eternity. A burning sickening feeling swept over the man as if a tsunami had engulfed him. He doubled over, succumbed in pain and misery that seeped through his skin like the blood of his kin on his garments. He bellowed in agony clutched his head like a man would a cliffs edge.

That night the man had aged and died over and over until he found peace. Some say that night the man had wondered off into the forest and never came out, but others…they say he left the town and found a life somewhere else; among the vagabonds and the unloved forever a ghost of his former self.

As for the child, most would say that he died that night at the hands of his father, others would say that he committed self-murder.

However if you enter the mansion and travel to its darkest corners you can hear his voice echo through the forgotten tomb pleading forgiveness.


	2. Human Extentions

The rain fell in great fat drops on the metal roof. It sounded like a child on a snare drum, beating on it constantly. A young boy and his mother drove in it on their way to a new home. The forest passed by in green and brown flashes. The old road they were driving on had rocks that shook the old rustic pick-up. The radio wasn't on as the boy's mother liked to talk to herself and her son. The boy hardly smiled, he found it difficult to do so. His mother on the other hand was finally glad to be out of their old town and into a new one, with new people and a new start. She glanced at her son curled up in a ball staring aimlessly out the window and stroked his golden locks. The boy's hair was unnaturally long for his age and gender alone. It swept over his shoulder in a braid which people also found peculiar for someone with a headstrong attitude. His eyes softened at her gesture, however he didn't smile. Not even his mother waned him of that. He could fake one sure, that was easy with years of doing it. True smiles never came though.

The town's folk glanced and turned to gossip as the new comers came into town. The boy rolled his eyes as he noticed them and sat up in his seat. He stared ahead and looked at his mother as she pulled over to ask for directions. The man she had asked hesitated as if what they were doing was somewhat dangerous then gave them directions.

"Thank-you" the mother replied sweetly. Her Chesnutt colored hair tied back in a bun, her emerald eyes sparkled with something you could only decipher as kindness and joy. She continued driving up into a forest and swerved a few times at the sight of a chipmunk or rabbit.

"Sorry, Edward, I'm trying to make animals _not_ want to hate me." She said giggling at her antics. Edward, as she called her son, rolled his eyes and allowed himself a soft smile. 'It's working' his mother thought as she focused on the road. She kept driving for a good solid twenty minutes. When they pulled up to the great mansion Edwards jaw dropped. His mother stretched a grin as far as her dimples would let her.

"I didn't know it would be this _big_" he said taking in its large capacity. His mother shook with delight as she leaped out and scoured the bed of the truck for their bags. The moving trucks had already unpacked and sorted their belongings. Edward followed tensely after his mother the sheer size of the monstrous building over powering his will to say any objections. They walked through the old mansion taking it all in from the servants to the lush furniture. Shaking off the water drops a maid showed Edward to his room.

His mother, Trisha, inherited a fortune when his father abandoned them. His father had kept it secret for such a long time. They supposed that he was saving it up for something. For what was beyond them. It kept them fed and put them in a good home so they couldn't complain much. Well except Ed.

As he collapsed onto his queen sized mattress he thought about what he could have done to keep his father around. He dozed off thinking about it when he heard a strange noise outside his bedroom door. He lifted his head and listened.

_Clang clang…_

There it was again, it sounded like it was right outside his bedroom.

As you might have thought, dear reader, yes there is something outside our adored Edwards door, the chance of it being hostile not so much. The certain figure outside the door was very large. He didn't like to be thought of as violent. He was wary of his foot falls and did his best to hush them, but to no avail. He could only hope he could be quick enough to escape the curiosity of his new house guest. He had trampled down the hallway with the grace of a rhino and ducked into a closet at the far end of the east wing, currently where he and Ed resided. The east wing had seven main hallways and a large amount of other stemming hallways that came off like branches. There was a recorded number of how many hallways exactly, but that was lost with the original blueprint of the mansion. The figure, however, had lived in this monstrous castle like monument for as long as he could remember. He often contemplated who he knew best, himself or the house he grew up in. He heard the pitter patter of steps outside his hiding place. He froze and watched the hall light turn on, yellow leaked through the cracks of the door and gave him little advantage over the darkness that aimed on drowning his vision. A small shadow drew over the yellow and the figure stared at it for moment before the shadow moved back. The yellow disappeared and the figure was alone again. He made his way down the hall and down the stairs.

As he made his way down the marble stair case the figure examined what he already knew of his house guests. They seemed nice enough, but hardly active. He decided to not think about that particular subject for the time being. He wandered out into the garden, a large space of plants, fountains and wild life comforted him. He walked through it admiring the beautiful statues that decorated the coble stone pathways. He marveled at the groves of bushed and towering trees that succeeded his enormous height. The flowers the plants produced were magnificent. They shimmered with dew and droplets of the past shower and by the looks of the sky they would get much more than one. The figure cupped a young bloom in his massive gauntlets and wondered at its soft glow before leaving it be. He continued to wander until he found his favorite clearing. It had a stone bench overlooking a pond. It was decorated in Lilly pads and blossoms. A line of tree hid it from view and yet let the moon beams focus on the pond and all its beauty. Frogs croaked and birds called. The figure's eye's dimmed and he let out a dreamy sigh. He loved this place. He took a seat on the ancient stone bench and spied a nightingale. He held his hand out and willed it to perch. The small frail boned creature took its chance and swooped down onto the figures out stretched hand. It fluttered its wings a bit before settling down. The figure had always loved woodland animals. He adored their kind little demeanor and soft looking appearance. The little gale looked at the figure, tweeted a goodbye, and fluttered off into the pale moon light. The figure had always loved spending his nights out here, alone and unbothered.

He found no comparable peace in his home, only guilty nostalgia and sad memories awaited him there. His mother smiled at him there, but also cried and bled there. His sisters so sweet and kind were now rotting in tombs. His father, oh his father he hated with a passion only found in demons.

The figure was no demon though. He was human. To an extent of course.


	3. Dreaming of Demons

Edward's new school was…old to be blunt. He didn't know if he would hate it or if he would like it. Though judging by all of the glances from his peers, Ed thought he could grow to hate it. He trudged up the staircase of the main building and checked into the office. The head counselor was a short plump lady with red cheeks and pouty red lips. She wore a red suit and a white bow tie. Her red hair was tied back in bun. As she led Ed through the school to the cafeteria, her shiny red high hells clacking all the way there, she made small talk.

"So Ed was it?" she asked blue eyes looking at him with curiosity. Ed nodded and pulled his shirt down; those stupid things always seemed to ride up on him. She smiled deep dimples drilled into her face as she walked with him.

"Well, Ed, I hope you enjoy your stay here and take joy in learning at our school." She exclaimed clapping her soft plump hands, her red nail polish shining in the light of a large window. The hall way they were currently walking through was large and spacious. It had dark brown brick along the walls and dark tiles decorating the floor. They passed the cafeteria and surveyed the students eating there. They looked nice enough. The counselor looked at Ed with worry in her eyes.

"Feelin' okay?" she asked setting a hand on his shoulder. Edward was at a loss for words. This town wasn't even that big how could so many kids be eating right now?! He snapped out of his trance at the counselor's question. He mumbled and okay and scoured the large seemingly never ending room. He managed to find a good spot with a girl. The girls head and eyes were focused on her computer screen and she was typing away at it madly. Her brown hair was tied back in pony tail and she wore a button up with a blazer and jeans. Her ears were plugged with head phones and Ed could hear her music which meant she couldn't hear him. She stopped typing abruptly and turned to him, her glasses flashed with light as she smiled and waved. Edward waved back hesitantly.

"So you're the new kid huh?" she asked leaning on one elbow. Ed nodded and shifted uncomfortably.

"Do you have a name or something? I'm smart, but not telekinetic." she crossed her legs and rested on the back of her chair. Edward paused for a moment.

"Ed." he said looking out the window to the back of the momentous room. She nodded and looked out the window too.

As soon as he got there, Ed found it raining again. He thought it was strange that one single place could have this much down pour and not flood.

"Yeah all the rains been buggin' the adults too. We keep on having all these stupid drills." The girl said nonchalantly.

"Drills? For what?" the boy already knew the answer to that, but he needed someone to talk to. Even if the conversation was a bit one sided.

"Floods." She said simply. Edward looked out the window as the rain splattered against it. The girl looked at Edward and asked: "Why are you wearing that?"

Ed looked down at his cloths. He too wore I button-up, buttoned to the very top, sleeves fastened, pants rolled up enough to be high-waters and shoes that looked more befitting for old man. The girls face was that of disgust as she got up and fixed his whole tacky outfit. She unbuttoned hi shirt by four buttons to show off his collar bone, unfastened and rolled up his cuffs and unrolled his pants.

"There," she said stepping back to look at her work, "much more presentable now I reckon."

Ed opened his mouth to ask: "Why in the _hell_ did you do that?" but the bell rang loud and proud and interrupted him, students packed their bags and poured out of the cafeteria, the girl filing out along with them.

Edward looked down at himself and decided he agreed with the girl, whoever she was, and joined the crowed.

He elbowed his way to his first period and found it to be quite annoying. He made his way to the very back of the class and avoided eye contact with most letterman wearing jocks. He took a seat beside a window. The teacher, a tall dark haired woman with big blue eyes and a figure to make a blind man's jaw drop, sauntered in. She wore a tight blouse with green and turquoise designs swirling on it; her black pants were loose around the ends and swished back and forth when she walked.

All the boys gawked at her, including Ed, but in his more modest way. As she made her way to the front of the room, she glanced at the classroom. She went behind her desk and set her tacky fake crocodile suitcase down. She came up to the white board and wrote her name: Mrs. Winestone.

Mrs. Winestone turned back to the class and smiled. "Well, class, I'm your freshman English teacher." She announced giving them a nervous smile. Some said hello and others just stared on. Ed did neither of these things, he gazed out the window. As she called out roll, Mrs. Winestone looked around the class. She spotted Ed and as she called out his name, she wandered. 'I know all the students in this classroom, what's this new face doing here?'

Class carried on as any other would, but tension held it. Most of it was coming off of Ed. The bell rang and ended class; as the students filed out Ed was packing his things back up. Mrs. Winestone met him at his desk.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked getting his attention. Edward turned to her and raised a brow.

"A lot of things are wrong, but it's not like I would tell a stranger about my problems. Teacher or not." With that he left a very mortified and slightly angered Mrs. Winestone.

The day passed on with little progress. Most of it was just exercises on how everyone got to know one another. Edward didn't like talking to people in general, but he did as told and went on with the ridiculous activities.

When the final bell rang Edward happily made his way to the back of the school where the busses where parked. Unfortunately he didn't make it to the busses; he bumped into Charley Davis, the football captain, ladies' man, and renowned bully of the school. He had a tall strong build and sleek blonde hair with stark blue eyes to match. Charley whipped his head around to find a very confused Edward. Where did this wall come from? Oh, wait, that's not a wall. That's the football captain. Crap.

"What do you want pipsqueak?" He sneered, smirking down at Ed. The "Pipsqueak" as they called him, looked up and raised a brow.

"Depends," he started, "what are your specialties?" snickers erupted at the come-back, but quickly subsided at a murderous glare from their leader. What happened between the following conversations is rather irrelevant; they four boys dragged a more than violated Edward around the garbage cans to the side of the building. The boys kicked and punched and spat on poor Edward. Though Ed could have just ignored them and went around, but his mouth usually gets the better of him. Besides, it would've ended the same way so why bother. They pounded Ed's chest and tried to crush his ribs with their Nike's.

He gasped for air he could not reach. He felt his lunch bubble in his digestion track and sputter at the trauma.

A certain dark haired beauty made her way to her cheap Ford Fusion. Mrs. Winestone was a very persistent individual and tried her best to make her students feel at ease in her company. Her one pet peeve might be rejection from that specific offer. He swung the driver's door open and plopped down.

"I knew I should've taken that editors job." She spoke to herself. A black scowl set on her pretty face. As she pulled out into the parking lot a strange and gruesome scene unfold. A group of boys were beating up a smaller boy. This was another one of the reasons she hated her job from time to time.

"Hey, Hey get off of him!" she shouted as she rushed over. The tall jocks looked at each-other and ran off faster than a woman in high heels could ever hope to travel. Edward staggered up and glanced at his English teacher. Blood trickled out of his mouth in a steady flow as he asked what she wanted.

"I don't _want_ anything. Do you need a ride?" she retorted crossing her arms and leaning on her hip. Ed rolled his eyes and said yes. Mrs. Winestone smirked and led him to her back seat.

"So," she began looking at his reflection through the rearview mirror, "you live in that big mansion on the edge of town right?" he nodded. Mrs. Winestone clicked the radio button and John Mayor's voice filled the car. Ed held his bruised arm and stared out the window. Trees passed by at a speed befitting a race car. Green and brown blurs filled the window to its brim. His cloths were caked in dirt and blood, not to mention the rips and tares. His lunch bubbled in his stomach, and he paused. It rumbled and sputtered demanding an exit. He coughed and held his belly willing his lunch to stay down, but that just made it more rambunctious.

"Pull over" he urged vice gripping his door handle.

"Why? You okay back there?" Mrs. Winestone inquired.

"Just pull over if you don't want your car smelling like the inside of my stomach!" he yelled covering his mouth to stop the bile. Mrs. Winestone did as told and pulled over to the side of the road. Edward flung the door open, collapsed on the grass and up came his lunch. He lurched and held his stomach as the half-digested sub sandwich met the ground, along with bile and other contents that had been in his digestion track. When the spewing had ceased he leaned against the door and waited for his throat to stop burning. Mrs. Winestone tripped out of the car and lent down to Ed's side. Vision hazy and throat raw and coated with dulled stomach acid, Ed collapsed and fell unconscious. Lucky Mrs. Winestone caught him and contemplated the situation. She thought the hospital could help with this so she heaved him up into her backseat. She also stepped in his lunch and stomach fluid. She cussed and wiped her bare foot on the grass before stepping into her car. She sped down the highway and hoped that the child in her backseat wouldn't wake up and hurl all over her leather.

_Dreams can be dangerous you know._

_What?_

_Especially this one, I suggest you don't look that thing in the eyes. _

A pale boy in a white night gown stood before Edward smiling. His eyes were turned in and veins popped and bled.

_What is that?_

_A demon. Again don't look at it. _

The black landscape echoed with children's laughter. A great leather hand turned Edward around. A tall figure blanketed in the same darkness, looked down at Ed with glowing eyes, like lanterns in a storm.

_I know my face isn't that much more pleasant than his, but at least you won't be possessed. _

_What are you? _Edward asked looking up at the strangers face.

The stranger paused before saying: _your guardian angel. Now wake up Ed, wake up. _

The white light blinded Ed. His mother stood over him with a teary worried gaze. Edward however could not meet it. He was lost in a dream-like state and stared off into the amber eyes that could only wonder and stare back.

_Your guardian angel…_it echoed and plagued his mind as if he had come down with a sickness with no cure.


	4. Of Angels and Demons

The lump under the red covers twisted and kicked the head board. Apparently they thought sleeping backwards with his feet on the pillow and his head on the end of his Queen sized mattress was going to make the sickening feeling in his stomach just magically disappear, however he was proven wrong when his stomach churned and sputtered. He tossed the comforter of the edge of the bed and let out a frustrated growl. To be honest it was more of an animalistic snarl mixed with a howl. He leaped out of bed and paced his room, the two towering windows let in flashing lighting. As you might have guessed this is Edward pacing his room like a starved and slightly crazed wild animal, why he is so stressed remains to be solved. The shadows of the windows and skyscraper like trees towered over him and his furniture. His room was decorated with posters of Albert Einstein and other famous scientists. He had several different hydrogen models hanging from his ceiling and DNA models atop his dressers waiting to be completed. His over-sized Green-Day T-shirt hung loosely at his thighs, his boxers barely visible, his golden locks tangled and matted. Flaxen eyes laced in fury, he trudged out of his room and into the hallway. The darkness enveloped him and cradled his vision. Edward let a gust of air and held the wall for balance, once he regained his sight he fumbled down the hall to the main corridor. He felt up and down the wall for a light switch and found after ten seconds of blind patting found it. After flipping the switch he ended up blinding himself for about two minutes before squinting his way to the sink.

He looked at his face in the embroidered mirror. Gold fringed the edges of the pristine well-kept reflection. He turned on the water and splashed his face with it. The nightmare he had was still swimming in his brain splashing about and keeping him awake at night. Demons, angels…what was going on?! And that figure in the darkness, what was he? He wasn't any kind of Angel that Edward had heard of.

Ed lent over the sink and cupped his face in tired hands. He stood there for a moment to think and pray that he hadn't gone off the deep end. Footsteps echoed outside the door in the hallway. He flashed his head up and listened. The footsteps traveled by without stopping and got farther and farther away. Ed turned the light off and opened the door to peer out. He scanned the now darkened hall and looked around. Not a soul was about. He stalked down the hall to the end and to the left. He could make out a person's silhouette not too far down the hall. He scurried down the hallway like a mouse on edge. The person traveled at fast pace, like a power walk. The person walked down the twisted hallways like he had been doing it all his life. Edward followed him with relative ease, and hid when the moment called for it. The person stopped at an old ancient door and looked around, completely silent. Edward waited and watched as the person sighed and opened the door with great caution. It creaked as it opened and closed. Edward came out of his concealment and came up to the aged wooden door. It was engraved with trees swirling up the edges and a shepherd holding a lamb. The door was covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. Edward reached for the door handle and twisted it anxious to see what lay on the other side. It was another dark hallway, yet different. It wasn't refurbished and polished as the rest of the mansion; it was as if the builders didn't even step foot in it.

He treaded through the old aged chamber for a few moments, looking at yellowing paintings and dusted or shattered vases. He looked out the grimy and dirtied towering windows that loomed above him like glass giants. Ed stopped at one extremely large portrait. It was a tall hansom man in fine velvet and silk garments, with a blond wife in a silk gown that looked like sky blue when the lighting flashed. They had three children two girls in lavender dresses with blue eyes like their mother's…and a son; the same boy Ed saw in his dream. He wore dark blue and gold, with the same golden eyes to match. Looks like that mutant gene carried through all those generations to Edward. Or so he presumed.

The blond boy traveled deeper through the hallway it seemed to get even older and decrepit. The dust got thicker until it caked the furniture head to toe, he tip-toed through the hall waiting for a monster to pop out and eat him whole. He froze like an ice sculpture when he saw the silhouette of the man again. He stood perfectly still as he looked and went down a corridor. Edward followed him out of curiosity and nervousness.

A light filled the end of another hall, where it met the end of the one Edward sat and hid in the shade. He heard and argument between what sounded like one of the butlers and some other boy.

"You shouldn't be out and about you know it's dangerous." The butler began, sounding genuinely concerned for whoever he was speaking to. "The young master-"

"_Edward_ is none of your concern; I will take care of him and he will find out soon enough either way." The other said.

"He will surely go mad at your appearance; there could be another way cant there?"

"Yes, but he deserves to know who I am. I owe it to myself to see this through to the end, with him at my side. He is my everything."

Edward found himself at a loss for words. What is this? What's going on? He paused as the conversation carried on.

"Charles go get some rest, you are getting tired and…what is that man doing on your shirt?" the boy said.

"His name is Bruce Springsteen, honestly Alphonse you need to watch some T.V." Charles retorted as he turned away.

Panic set in as Ed scurried down and hid behind a very dusty relic cabinet. Charles passed by, a middle-aged man with a receding hair line and an old world-beaten look on his face. When he was out of sight there was a heavy heaved sigh that filled the empty space.

A thick dark shadow fell over Edward. His heart nearly stopped in his chest. A giant man stood before him watching Charles walk away. He was incredibly tall, looming over Ed like a giant. His eyes glowed like lanterns in a storm and as he turned away, his eyes met Edwards. He paused and stared at Ed, the sheer size of him over whelming Ed as if he were a great beast studying his prey.

He passed on as if he hadn't seen a thing and left Ed baffled.

Edward hadn't slept that night, not a wink. He was grateful that he didn't have school the next morning, but that didn't make anything easier. Those lantern eyes were engraved in his mind. What was worse is that night he still heard the empty metal footsteps outside his room.


	5. Entity Children

Shivering and quaking with fear, Edward made his way to the kitchen table for breakfast. He sat down unable to control the earthquakes speeding through his frame.

"Edward, are you alright? I thought your stress was getting better." His mother said coming through the entryway. The kitchen itself was humble and small, but in a cozy way. It had rosy grandma wallpaper and old wooden cabinets. Trisha opened the cup door and felt around the top shelf for a bottle of pills. Once found, she popped them open and poured a glass of raspberry tea into a tall glass. She set it down in front of Edward and gave him a peck on the head before heading out.

"I won't be home till…twelve I think. Yeah twelve sounds about right, any ways I'll call if there's traffic or anything." She said packing her purse. Edward followed her out consumed in curiosity.

"Where are you going?" he asked, watching her climb into the old truck.

"Oh, just to see the logging company your father used to own in the next town."

As the pick-up pulled out of the drive way Trisha rolled the window down and yelled: "And be sure to take your stress pill!" Her son rolled his eyes and waved her goodbye.

He watched her drive down the road and walked back into the house when she disappeared around the corner. He made his way into the granny kitchen, and eyed the cursed pill. He had always hated the thing; mostly because it left a horrid taste in his mouth. He however feared his mother's wrath more than he hated the pill so: he reluctantly took it. He slumped up the stairs and collapsed onto his fluffy mattress. He sat there for a while thinking about his encounter with the mysterious entity the night before. Where had he seen the armor? In a hallway perhaps? His eyes drooped and fell shut, the medicine taking over his consciousness.

It was nearly nine o-clock when Ed opened his eyes again. He propped himself on his elbows and stared at the sheets bellow him. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his alarm clock with the grace of the groggy. Sighing he climbed out and walked out into the hallway and to the bathroom. Once there he washed his face and pulled his hair back into a pony-tail.

_Clank, clank…_

He froze like a deer in headlights, quickly switched the lights off and dove behind the shower curtain. The clanks were a lot louder with an open door to listen through. They sounded like pots and pans were walking around on their own. The clanks got farther away and Edward kept silent until he was sure they were at the end of the corridor. He stepped out of the shower and out into the dark barely lit hallway. The towering windows let in moonlight and lit the hallway like an old highway. The clanks and the same entity from last night were there turning the corner. Edward followed them down the hallway ducking behind corners and other antiques when the Entity looked behind it. Edward followed it all the way to the marble stair case and watched at it made its way down. Edward silently trailed after it and into the living room where it stopped and looked at the T.V out of curiosity. It walked up to it and cocked its head to the side.

"How in the world am I supposed to watch this? It isn't doing anything worth watching." The voice was surprisingly child-like compared to the night before. Ed stood there behind the railing of the staircase and watched him try to figure out how it worked. He let out a disgruntled sigh and made his way to the back door. "Ugh…I hope I never come to understand todays inventions." He mumbled to himself, not even noticing Edward watching. Ed followed him outside and into a rose garden, which was more like a maze now that he thought about it. Along the way to some mysterious destination, he would stop and admire a bloom or watch a doe and her fawn pass by him without another glance. He made twists and turns around the cobblestone walkway like he had done it a thousand times and Edward having the shorter pair of legs found it difficult to keep up. The echoing foot falls reverberated throughout the night and Edward felt like he was the only one trying to be as quiet as possible. After a while of walking (or running in Ed's case) they came to a pond. It was hidden to the rest of the world seeing as the perimeter was surrounded by trees. Frogs croaked and birds chirped in frenzy of wild nature. Fish swirled and danced with each other in an undisturbed ballet, the trees swayed to the rhythm of the wind and let go a whistle every now and then. The entity sat down on an old vine covered stone bench and let go a sigh.

"I prefer the wilderness over the confines of that damned house, don't you?" he turned his head in a series of soft metal on metal screeches, his lantern eyes focused on Edward. "Come out here and let me look at you in the light, I want to see your face."

Edward's heart beat on high in his chest, like a caged bird. He didn't know what to do, should he come out? Should he stay there? Should he run? In those three short seconds it took him to come out from behind the tree and into the moon lit garden of wild beauty, to stare into the eyes of the monster that plagued his corridors in the night, he didn't think a single thing. The blood drained from his face and into his stomach in bubbled and churned, but didn't upset him. The giant stood and walked to Edward, slow strides and hollow steps filled the air. Great leather hands cupped Edwards face and held him in place.

"Hair like sunshine and eyes like pure gold, you look exactly like him, my father that is."

"What're you…" Edward didn't get to finish his sentence. He had woken up.

He blinked and opened his eyes. Ed was in his bedroom under his covers with no sign that he had ever gotten up and went outside in the first place. He pushed the comforter back and climbed out of his bed. He was in a daze as he sat down at the table and didn't even respond when his mother said good morning. She hovered over a pan of sizzling bacon and eggs, but paused.

"Edward, last night the butler said he found you asleep in the garden, care to explain?"

He froze. In the garden, how was that possible?

"Which confuses me, because the garden is sealed off, how in the world could you have gotten your self all the way over in there?"


	6. Monster Children

In the morning when Edward woke up from his strange, but realistic dream, his mother told him that the Gardeners found him curled up in the rose grove, the only part of the Garden that was sealed off by non-personnel. That Afternoon Edward was to be sent back to school, but he would be picked up early, to be deemed fit for public education by a Doctor. Throughout the entire day people stared at him and made hushed comments to their Nabors. Someone even had the audacity to ask him if he was having an affair with Mrs. Winestone, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back, because after-words he snapped at the student to "Piss off and mind his own damn business before my fist has an affair with your face." At that the student ran off screaming bloody murder. Well not necessarily scream, but he did run off with a rather terrified look plastered on his pale sweat ridden face. The rest of the day students and faculty alike steered clear of Ed's war path. Ed was stressed, tired and he could feel another episode bubble in the pits of his stomach. Idiots were the last thing he needed today. When he was called to the nurse's office for a checkup and medication he was so relieved that he thought he might pass out. When he pushed the door open he was greeted by an old frail looking woman, she was known throughout the school Nurse Sweet. After someone was done getting their temperature or seeing if their stomach actually hurt she would give them a lollipop or a piece of hard candy, everyone in school loved her. As she tucked the thermometer under his tongue, Edward thought about how he could sleep walk into a prohibited sealed off area. The nurse smiled and handed him a lolli and bid him goodbye as he walked out of the nurse's office and into the main office. He came to a conclusion that if he didn't find out what was going soon, it would get to a point where it happened when he was in school.

When he got home from the Doctor he made his way to his room he passed a maid in the hall carrying a large heavy looking box.

"Do you need any help with that?" he asked as he walked alongside her. She nodded and thanked him for his service.

"If you could help me take these out to the curb that would be lovely." She said sweetly. As they heaved the cardboard boxes outside Edward asked what could possibly make these things so hard to carry.

"There just old brochures, this mansion was a museum for quite some time, these particular ones are for an armor exhibit. It was a very strange one too," she set the box down and sighed "the attraction only had one suit."

"Really?"

"Yes, it was the armor that…" she looked around, "The first young master had his soul bound to, by a witch." She whispered. "They say that his father wanted to live forever and slaughtered all of his family as a sacrifice. The boy was the only one that survived." Edward thought about that for a moment. "What did the boy look like?"

"Oh nobody knows exactly, but he was said to be very, very beautiful." She dusted her dress off and asked if Edward needed anything. "No I'm fine, thank you. Can I take one of these flyers?" he took one out and folded the flaps of the box back together.

"Sure if you want one, we aren't selling them anymore." The maid said smiling. Edward thanked her and sped off to his room for supplies. He would need all the equipment he could get if he was going to catch this ghost.

As he made his way to the very back of the mansion, Ed went over his plan.

First he would have to find the room with the armor. Then he would have to wait until midnight (since it was the most active then) and for him to…come alive or whatever. What he would do if it all played out he didn't quite know, but he would figure something out. The halls were dusty and damp as ever, on the way there Edward tried to reason why no one ever came down here. He looked around and turned to the map in the brochure, it said that he was in the south wing he looked around. There weren't any signs or labels on the halls as far as he could see. He let out a sigh and scratched his head. This was going to be harder than he had thought. He made his way down the hall way trying to decipher where the exhibit was. It was supposed to be big and noticeable so how hard could it really be to find it? He looked around and a realization came to mind. The second night he saw the figure he was in another hall way not to far from the main south wings entry way. He looked on the map and made his way back to the beginning. He went through twists and turns until he came across a large wooden door. It had multiple carvings engraved in it. Two massive trees twisted up and shadowed a figure in the middle of the door. Edward dug through a bag that he brought in case of emergency for his flash light. He flipped in on and studied the figure under the oak trees, in was a woman. She held a child in her arms and looked down at it lovingly. Ed cocked his head to the side, who was this? It couldn't be mother marry, so was it the woman in the painting he had found the other night? At a closer look, the woman looked as if she were sobbing.

"What a strange door." Edward said to himself. He looked at the door knob and found it had a great big pad lock on it. It looked like someone didn't want anyone to get in.

Or they were keeping something from getting out.

Ed gave a shiver as he dug for something in his bag. He found a screw driver and jammed it into the key hole. He jiggled it around and heard a clack and multiple clicking sounds after words. It slid off of the old door handles like a dead snake slipping off of a man's arm. He pushed the doors open with a force matched to Hercules.

As the old oak doors creaked and shuddered open, the scent of dust and moths hit Ed's face like a title wave. He coughed and fanned the musky smell out of his face and eyes. He walked through the empty room squinting through the mist of dirt and grime. The place was more like a grave yard than anything else. A heavy echo followed Ed's every foot fall. As he looked around the room he found it to be large and spacious with portraits of knights and princesses, kings and queens, and to the very back of it was a towering window it casted a glow over a pedestal that held up the monster that walked through his dreams. Ed crept up to it and noticed a plaque that told the exhibits history.

_Here lays Alphonse - born 1788 and died in 1792 at age four. He was killed at the hands of his father and died an untimely death, may he rest in eternal peace. _

Edward raised a brow, this wasn't an exhibit…it was a grave.

"What in the-?" Edward began, but was cut off at the laughter of small children. He whipped his head around to see a shadowy figure staring at him from behind a marble pillar.

_When the clock strikes twelve the monster walks, when the clock strikes twelve the monster stalks _

_Run as you may, he always finds his prey, when the clock strikes twelve the monster strikes you. _

Within the time it took for the child to appear it vanished with a wisp of smoke and giggles. Edward's phone rang with a loud obnoxious jingle and snapped him out of his daze; he gave a yelp and looked around for the source to find his phone in his back pocket. He let out sigh of relief and answered. It was his mother; she had left for the next town over and wouldn't be back until midnight.

She was almost home. Edward immediately hung up and checked the time. It was Midnight.

"_**Edward, run…" **_

He slowly turned his head and found his worst nightmare reaching out for him, glowing lantern eyes focused only on him.


	7. Shadows in the lime light

A harsh yell burst from Ed's lungs as he stumbled back and fell to the floor. The monster, hands out stretched for him, hesitated. His lantern eyes dimmed as he took a step back. He continued to stare at Ed, worried about the demon that lurked in the hall way. The monster- or more accurately Alphonse- made his way for the red velvet rope and unhooked it. He never broke eye contact as he slowly made his way off of the pedestal, one step at a time.

"Edward, I know that I may look terrifying, but if you don't leave you will be killed by the demon lurking outside this hallway." He held his hand out for Ed to take, waiting for him to either run away or grasp it. What he did perplexed Alphonse to this very day. He asked him how he could've ended up in his bed asleep when his mother told him he was found in the rose garden.

"Excuse me?" Alphonse asked his hand lowered.

"Did you make me sleep walk out there or something?"

"What- no! I don't have the power to do any such thing." Alphonse stood up, "I'm nothing but a spirit, a dream one to be precise." Edward raised a brow, daring him to continue.

"The only thing I can do in your dreams is walk through them and manipulate parts of them, and even then the parts I change aren't even significant."

"How?" Ed asked after he took a moment to stand up.

"Well, I technically 'died' in my sleep, but somehow I'm still alive. It's a very complicated matter." He rushed past Ed and peeked out the door. "Alright, if we're quick, we can still get you out of the south wing and seal the door again. This time with me out of it." Edward was taken back at this.

"Wait- so if you're not a the monster thing that little…whatever was talking about-"

"Shadow demon, they usually take the form of the most depressed creature in the building or house."

"Okay, but what was it talking about?" Edward asked walking up to Alphonse, crossing his arms waiting for an answer.

"It was talking about itself, demons do that- you know play with people's senses of reality. It's their favorite pass-time, well that and killing innocent people in the goriest way possible." He made his way out and beckoned Ed to follow. They walked or rather ran in Edward's case, as Al explained the situation.

"Every night, at twelve o clock on the dot, a demon comes out and seeks the blood of the innocent. It lurks the south wing until three thirty, then it disappears and does the same thing the next night." He walked on and stopped to look around the next hall. They walked and walked for a very long time, when Alphonse stopped suddenly in the middle of a stretched and darkened hallway, Ed finally knew what was wrong.

"You're lost aren't you?" he asked walking in front to face him.

"No, this is the way. I remember it was right down the hall with my sisters and then down the next hall…oh no. What time is it?"

Ed pulled his phone out and checked the time. It was midnight.

"Oh crap! What's wrong! Its twelve is the demon supposed to be killing us right about now?"

"It wouldn't get any benefits out of killing me, but it would love to kill you. If the demon is strong enough then it can manipulate reality, or at least how we perceive it." Al looked around trying to piece everything together. "The demon can manipulate minds and make thoughts come into our minds so be careful."

"So if the demon can manipulate Brains how are you lost? You don't even have a brain." Ed asked walking beside him as best as his shorter legs could carry him.

"It can manipulate _minds_, there's a big difference. The mind is composed of Soul spirit and consciousness. The soul binds the consciousness to the earth and the spirit allows us to perceive. Conscious is just our existence. However that's just the basics, other people, and by people I mean other spirits, or ghosts as you humans call them, have come up with other theories."

"And you know this how? What is there some sort of ghost con you go to once a year?" Ed asked sarcastically, grinning smugly at Alphonse.

"Okay, one: it's not ghost it's _Spirit. _Two: Sarcasm will not help our situation, and three: you're an ass when you try hard enough. Now could you stop being so…rude?" Al put his hands on his hips and glared down at Edward through smoldering eye lights. Edward, however, just shrugged and continued down the hallway without a single word. Al walked down it beside him and continued to contemplate how to get out of there.

Their shadows crept behind them, sprawled when the passed a towering window, and fell back down when they were in the dark. Amidst the shadows and torn wall paper a very dark presence emerged. It followed the boys down the hallway for some time and watched them. Claws scraped the carpet and left marks, like tares on flesh, and cornered the unknowing prey at a dead end.

"Ah, dead end, maybe there's a door somewhere…" Al looked around and saw the creature. He froze.

"Ed whatever you do, don't move."

"What?" Edward asked turning to let his eyes fall upon the real monster. The demon a shadowy figure had a massive gaping jaw; a long slimy looking tongue slithered out and lapped at its maw; its teeth were long and sharp more talon like than anything else, eyeing Edward with a hunger found in starved animals. Long claws scraped the musky dirt covered carpet and a gravely laugh fell from his mouth.

"**Ah a meal, such a wonderful surprise. Tell me child, what brought you here of all places?" **


	8. Dreams in the spot light

The monster lunged itself at Edward, mouth agape and teeth growing. A great pair of leather hands pulled him out of the way and hurried his to the exit.

"You all right?" Alphonse asked over the roar the demon bellowed out. Edward managed to keep up with Al's run by a hair, "Yeah could be better though, is that the demon that was in my dream the other day?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact it was, good eye." They sped up and swerved out of the way of a massive claw.

"COME BACK HERE MEAL! I DIDN'T WAIT FOUR HUNDERED YEARS TO BE DENIED THIS TREAT!" the monster galloped behind them at a surprising rate.

"Al, what do we do?! It'll kill us if we slow down and I can't keep this pace up forever!" Edward yelped squeezing his eyes shut as he labored breath.

"Quick this way!" Al said dashing down a particularly dark and damp hallway. He grabbed Ed by the arm and tugged him along down it. Al and Ed covered themselves in a blanket of darkness and waited. They hid there until the voice and growling got farther and farther away. It took them a moment to notice that they were clinging to each other like siblings hold each other during a thunder storm.

"Sorry- uh I didn't mean to-" Ed began, and Al of course not even bothering to show that he cared cut him off.

"Don't worry about it, I don't mind." He got up and went to survey their surroundings and make sure the demon wasn't around to attack a second time.

As they made their way to the end of the hall, smooth echo's filled the corridor. The wind whistled and howled like wild animals, the shadows of the trees climbed up the revealed wall paper like giants. The steady creak of the floor boards accompanied the soft drifts of winds flowing through the cracks. Moonlight helped guyed the way to the main entry to the south wing. The door looked the same as when they had left it, but some haw seemed to be more of a savior than a mere tool. Alphonse opened the door and waited for Edward to follow.

When Alphonse shut the door, he turned to Ed.

"Now you do your part." He spoke solemnly and calmly so he didn't set off an alarm. Edward raised a brow.

"My part? What do I do?" he crossed his arm and looked up at Al skeptically. He didn't like the sound of what Al was getting to.

"A blood member from the Elric household must seal this door. Since I don't have any blood to give, you're the next best thing."

Edward took a step back and prepared himself for a chase. "What does this entail? Do I have to kill myself or something?"

"No, of course not!" Alphonse exclaimed keeping one hand braced on the old oak door. "Take a sharp object, cut yourself, and seal the door with your blood. That's all you have to do. I promise." Alphonse held his hand out to be shaken and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, he felt human when it was grasped back, however timid the hand that shook his was. Ed set his bag down (that had lugged all the way down the hall and saved from the beasts claws) and dug out a pocket knife that his father had given him for his birthday. He tried his best to make a clean cut across his arm, and succeeded for the most part. As it bled out and dripped onto his shoes, Edward watched as Al lifted his hand with the blood coating his finger tips and pressed it to the door.

"Good, now close your eyes and concentrate on the door locking." Al said setting a great, but gentile hand on his shoulder.

"Al right if this'll do the trick…" Edward said nervously shifting from one foot to the other. He imagined a door in front of him with a key in his hands.

_Good now lock the door, you're doing great. _

_Al? You're here? _

_Of course I am._

He turned to see Alphonse looking over his shoulder. Al just shrugged and pushed him forward.

_Do it Ed, get it over with so we don't have to deal with it any more. _

He took steady and shaky steps to the door, pushed the key in, and twisted it. A clank followed and gears turned in the lock.

When he came to, Edward found himself in bed yet again. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned to get out of bed so he could get dressed for school. When he saw that Al was sitting not too far from his bed side reading a book he froze.

It looked as though his dreams were becoming more real than he had expected.


	9. inkling

The stunned blonde stared at his companion.

"Oh, you're awake." Alphonse got up and walked to Ed's bedside and tilted his head to the side. "Are you alright, you look scared."

"So that wasn't a dream. It actually happened." Edward spoke to himself as he fell back down onto his pillow. He pinched the bridge of his nose and waited for throb in his head to subside.

"So theirs actually a demon in my house?" he asked peering up at Al through his fingers.

"Not anymore, when you sealed the door, he…died so to speak." Al shrugged as he sat down towering over Ed.

"Oh, well I guess that's good. I have to go to school now so…just stay out of sight 'kay?" he sat up and swung his legs over the opposite side of the bed. He walked to his dresser and dug some clothes out of the drawers. After he was done getting dressed he noticed Al staring at him, head cocked to the side, like a child watching an adult doing adult things. Ed raised a brow, "What?" he asked with a slight smile curving up his face. Al gave a meek laugh "Sorry, I haven't had very much human contact and you're the first person not to run and scream at the sight of me."

"Don't worry about it. I don't really care." He took a stray brush and combed his off color hair out. Al's lantern eyes dimmed as he cocked his head.

"I'm gonna guess you're happy?" Edward asked as he set down the brush.

"Yes, I suppose I am." Al said rocking back so was sitting down legs splayed out. Edward let himself a rare smile and went to the door.

"The maids usually stay out of here so you should be fine if your stay put." Ed explained as he grabbed his school bag. He took one more look at Al, who waved goodbye, and left after giving him a smile and a wave back.

The rest of the day, Edward was in much higher spirits. He actually smiled a bit in English as Mrs. Winestone gave a lecture about epic poems and how Homer got help from the Gods to write the Odyssey. However by the end of sixth period he was well worn out and was ready to go home. He was so tired he fell asleep during lunch.

_Hello_

Alphonse stood before Edward waving hello

_Hey, Al, _a soft smile, _what're you doing? _

_Nothing really, I was just getting lonely._

_Oh sorry about that. I'm about done with school once I get home we can hang if you want._

_Hang?_

Edward raised a brow, and then realized Al was still from the early nineteen hundreds. He probably didn't know what Edward meant by "Hang."

_You know talk and stuff. Socialize. _

_Oh, well in that case it sounds like fun. _

The harsh ring of the sixth period bell dragged Ed out of his dream talk. He sat up rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch. Forty minutes until school let out, he breathed a sigh of relief and gathered his things up.

"Hey, freak. Where do you think you're going?"

Edward spun around and saw Charley, the football captain with a murderous glair in his eyes. Edward backed away in slow careful steps.

"Just on my way to seventh period, what about you?" Edward asked nervously. Charley's scowl deepened as he spoke, "Just got out of detention." He growled out.

"Well that sucks, I gotta go now so-"

Before he was able to finish, Ed was slammed into a wall and slapped across the face.

"**QIET, BEFORE I RIP YOUR TONGUE OUT. YOU HAVE PLAGUED ME LONG ENOUGH WELP, NOW I WILL PULL THE THORN FROM MY SIDE, THAT THORN BEING YOU OF COURSE." **Charley's eyes grew dark and were shadowed like ink dripping into water.


End file.
